Garland Community Baptist Church
garlandcbc.com
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WE BELIEVE:

 

1.  The Bible verbally and completely inspired, is God's infallible word, authoritative for all faith and life. 

(II Timothy 3:16-17)

 

2.  There is one God- personal, infinite, perfect and eternally existing as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.  (I John 5:7)

 

3.  Jesus Christ is true God and true Man, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, provided substitutionary atonement for lost man and rose bodily from the grave.  (Hebrews 1:1-14)

 

4.  The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person and works in the conviction of men and in the regeneration, sanctification and preservation of the believer.  (John 14:26)

 

5.  God directly created the universe from no pre-existing substance.  We reject both naturalistic and theistic evolution.  (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16)

 

6.  Satan is a fallen created personality, opposed to all that is holy and is destined for eternal punishment.  (John 8:44)

 

7.  Man was made in God's own image and fell into sin in Adam and is now a sinner both by nature and choice and can be restored to God's favor only by God's provision in Christ as applied by the Holy Spirit.  (Romans 3:10-19)

 

8.  God's provision- Christ is the only ground for man's justification which includes both pardon from sin and the gift of eternal life.  (I Peter 2:24)

 

9.  Salvation comes to man only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any human merit.  (Romans 4:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-9)

 

10.  All persons will experience resurrection, believers to a state of eternal happiness and unbelievers to eternal punishment.  (Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29)

 

11.  The return of Christ includes both the rapture of the church and His return in glory.  The first is for His church which is personal and may occur at any moment.  The second is His return to earth to establish His righteous reign over the earth.  (I Thessalonians 4:16)

 

 

TAKEN FROM:  GARLAND COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH CONSTITUTION, REVISED JULY 24, 2011- ARTICLE V  

 

 

SALVATION- WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

 

John 10:27-28: 

 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  (nkjv)

 

In this passage of the New Testament, Jesus talks about His relationship to people.  Let's look at this for a moment...

 

Notice first He says:  "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."  My sheep, not just any sheep.  The sheep Jesus is speaking of here are those who believe in Him.  Jesus said in John 3:3-8 that unless a person experiences a second spiritual birth through Him (Jesus), they cannot and will not see the kingdom of God.  This involves believing upon Him for everlasting life  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  This brings us to the second part of this passage:  "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."  Jesus talks about the protection and shelter that He, the Great Shepherd, provides His sheep, that is, those who believe upon Him- His death upon the cross for our sin, His burial and resurrection from the grave (I Corinthians 15:1-4).  If we believe upon Him for forgiveness of our sin, we are saved.  Sin is not a word people like to talk about.  We tend to want to believe the best about ourselves and others, and yet the Bible says we sin (literally "miss the mark") in our lives because we are by nature sinners (Ephesians 2:3).  If we are honest with ourselves, we can see this in ourselves. Yet God the Father's love for us is demonstrated in what His Son has done for us, through His death, burial and resurrection... "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

This is a gift from God, not something we can earn.  We see this spoken of in the book of Ephesians:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).  The very fact that Jesus went to the cross for our sin tells us that salvation cannot be earned, otherwise it would not have been necessary for Him to endure the suffering and shame that He took upon Himself in our place.  The life of a Christian starts with coming to the feet of our Savior, and falling down in humility, seeking the forgiveness of the very One Who created us, and reconciles us to the Father.  He knows your needs, your brokenness and your heart of hearts.  Seek Him today, and come to Him for forgiveness and everlasting life.  If you would like to talk to someone about this, I would be happy to do so.  Please call or email me.  If you have prayed that prayer, please contact me, so we can help you as you begin your walk with Jesus.

 

Pastor Scott   

 

 

  

 

 

GARLAND COMMUNITY BAPTIST STATEMENT OF FAITH...

VISION OF GARLAND COMMUNITY BAPTIST...


We believe in sharing the love of Christ and the way of salvation by serving others as a harbor for the spiritually broken; and becoming a mature family of brothers and sisters through the teachings of the Bible and the work of the Holy Spirit